Shopify collaborator access: a freelancer's guide

Short answer

The owner gives you a 4-digit collaborator request code. You send a collaborator request from your Dev Dashboard with that code and the permissions you need. The owner reviews the role, can change it, and accepts. You log in from your Dev Dashboard, and after that first login also from the Shopify mobile app. Access expires if you do not log in for 90 days.

What a collaborator account is

According to Shopify's Help Center, collaborators are Shopify Partners that a store owner has allowed to access the store or organization. A collaborator account is similar to a regular user account. Collaborators do not count toward the store's user limit, and the owner can manage and remove their access from the Shopify admin.

That means you need a Shopify Partner account before you can be a collaborator. Check Shopify's current partner sign-up page for terms before you rely on this.

Step by step

1. Ask the store owner for the collaborator request code. It is a 4-digit code under Settings > Users > Security in their Shopify admin. Shopify says only partners who have been given the code can send a request.
2. Submit the request from your Dev Dashboard, entering the code and the permissions you need. The owner gets an email and a notification on their Shopify Home.
3. The owner opens the request in Settings > Users, filtering by Requests status. Each request comes with an auto-generated role based on the permissions you asked for. The owner can edit it or assign an existing role, then accepts.
4. You log in to the store from your Dev Dashboard. Shopify says you have to log in this way at least once before you can use the Shopify mobile app with that store.

Shopify also says the owner can generate a new access code, so an old code stops working. If a request fails, a changed code is a likely reason. Ask for the current one.

Two-step authentication is required

Shopify states that partners must turn on two-step authentication to use a collaborator account. Without it, you cannot log in. Set this up before you tell the client you are ready. Otherwise your first message to a new client is "I can't get in yet", which is a poor start.

Permissions: ask for what the job needs

The owner can create roles with specific permissions. Shopify's own example is a collaborator who needs shipping profiles, who would be given the View products and Manage settings permissions. Collaborators can request any available permission. Shopify says to consider carefully which ones a collaborator needs.

So when you write to the owner, say what you will do and list the areas of the admin it touches. For a theme bug that might be themes and a read of products. For a checkout issue it might be settings. Asking for less is easier to approve, and owners notice that.

What you cannot do as a collaborator

Per Shopify's page:

• You cannot be given the Administrator store role.
• You cannot be given organization roles, including the Store user administrator role.
• Store or organization ownership cannot be transferred to you.
• You do not get access to the Shopify POS app or the Point of Sale channel.

If a job needs something in that list, for example POS settings, tell the owner early. They may need to do that part themselves or do it with you on a call.

The 90 day expiry

Shopify says that if a collaborator has not logged in to the store within 90 days, access expires automatically. The owner can bring it back from the Users and permissions page by opening the account, choosing Actions and then Reactivate user.

This matters if you sell ongoing care. A client you check every quarter can lose your access between visits, and you will not know until you try to log in. Put a login check in the plan, or diary a reminder to log in every month. Our guide on Shopify store care retainers shows where this fits.

A message you can send

"Hi Maya, to fix the cart drawer I need collaborator access to your store. There's a 4-digit collaborator code in your Shopify admin under Settings > Users > Security. Send it to me and I'll submit the request. I'll only ask for the theme and product permissions the fix needs, and you can check them before you accept."

Shopify moves menus around now and then, so check the current Help Center page before you send a menu path.

Habits that make owners trust you

• Duplicate the live theme before you edit it, and tell the owner you did.
• Write down what you changed, in plain words, with the date.
• When the job ends, tell the owner it is fine to remove your access, or agree on what stays for ongoing care.

None of these are Shopify rules. They are common practice among freelancers and they cost nothing.

If you want the client side handled

Thomas Partners is a program where we find the client work and take care of the client side. You keep 90% of the profit after documented costs are repaid. No profit, no fee. If you would rather spend your time on stores than on sales and invoicing, you can apply here.